January, 2013 archive
Facebook Frolics 0
I logged into Facebook today to respond to a comment on one of my posts and discovered, that, once again, Facebook has zucked with the interface to make it difficult to find the stupid “Log Off” button.
Off to delete their stupid cookies . . .
Equal Time 0
Not wanting anyone to be left out, a Wisconsin Republican is now waging war on Kwanzaa.
Full Disclosure:
I used to look down on Kwanzaa as a “made-up” holiday until I realized that
- it is benign and positive, and
- all holidays are made up, that is, created by society.
They may be created to commemorate (Christmas, Fourth of July), honor (President’s Day, Martin Luther King Day), or promote* (Arbor Day, Flag Day) something, but they are societal creations.
Disparaging Kwanzaa says nothing about Kwanzaa, but much about the disparager.
____________________
*Too often, sales of greeting cards, but that’s another topic.
Django Decoded 0
Thom on the significance Django Unchained.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Celebrate, politely.
That makes at least four times in the past year that a Hillsborough or Pinellas County resident has been hit by a falling bullet in the name of celebration. That would include two bullets in a head or face, one in a wrist and one in a back since Jan. 1, 2012.
(snip)
I suppose you could argue that harsher laws are in order, but I’m not sure how much impact that would have.
“It would probably be a deterrent to some people,” said Bruce Bartlett, chief assistant state attorney for the Pinellas-Pasco district. “But the kind of people shooting guns on New Year’s probably aren’t smart enough to figure that out.”
Links to Howlin’ Wolf? 0
Kansas City played a large role in the growth of the blues, so I wonder whether their company name is not a coincidence.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Recognize diversity, politely.
The attacker fired more than 20 pellets, deputies said.
Nothin’ from Nothin’ Leaves Nothin’ 5
Der Spiegel examines what happens when citizens aren’t willing to pay the price for living in a civilized society.
Read the whole thing.
Yelped! 0
The Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and Public Citizen said Wednesday that the Supreme Court of Virginia has thrown out the preliminary injunction issued in Fairfax County Circuit Court. The groups had appealed the judge’s order saying it violated both the First Amendment and Virginia law.
The lady felt she had been ripped off by a contractor and published her story. The contractor sued.
I think this is a good ruling.
Details at the link.
“White Crime” 0
Part of white privilege is that what white folks do is considered the norm.
For example, you can find many articles agonizing over “inner city” (that means “Not White”) crime. How many do you see about “white crime”?
White is “normal,” so crimes by white are unnoticed, unexamined, unremarkable, un-remarked on, ipso facto individual acts that are in no way related to whiteness, even as Not White crimes are considered somehow inherent to being Not White.
In an interview with historian Ann Little, Chauncey Devega cuts through the veil crap to explore the history of white America’s preoccupation with guns.
Follow the link, read the entire post, and listen to the podcast:
More Tumblng Tumbl Weeds? 0
Relative to the previous post, whaddya bet these kids were tumblng on Tumblr?
(snip)
The parents drank about a quarter of the milkshakes but didn’t finish them, saying they tasted funny and were grainy, Milka said.
But the shakes – loaded with prescription sleep aids allegedly provided by the friend – were effective, and the parents quickly fell asleep.
A child therapist (watch me avoid the obvious pun) is quoted as saying that drugging (druggng?) one’s parents is not “a healthy level of rebellion.”
Afterthought:
I suspect therapy and therapists would be saner if the concept of “adolescent rebellion” were replaced with the more accurate concept of “getting away with stuff.” The concept of “rebellion” implies a goal of some sort.
I know that, when I was a kid, I really wasn’t rebelling against anything.
I just liked getting away with stuff.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Mourn your losses, politely.
The police claim he shot his pet snake and have charged him with cruelty to animals, but he says that the snake died a natural death.
Ericcson said the snake was his pet for about 17 years. “I’ve had that snake since he was so small he could just wrap around your wrist,” he said. “Me and my wife can’t have kids, so the animals are our kids.”
Ericcson claimed he was so distraught over the snake’s death, he shot up the large cabinet that contained his Dale Earnhardt collection.
Words fail me.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
For all practical purposes, no change:
(snip)
Payrolls rose by 150,000 workers after a 146,000 gain in November, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg ahead of the figures due tomorrow. The unemployment rate may have held at 7.7 percent, the lowest since December 2008.
The number of people continuing to collect jobless benefits climbed by 44,000 to 3.25 million in the week ended Dec. 22, today’s report showed. Continuing claims don’t include workers receiving extended benefits under federal programs.
Only one thing is certain.
If you want to make money at the track, don’t have Bloomberg’s experts pick the exacta for you.
Chris Christie to Congress: “Shame on You” 0
I disagree with many of Governor Christie’s positions, but I compliment him for having an integrity that is too often missing in politicians.
Pernicious Fiction 0
In a long article, Leonard Pitts, Jr., explored the history of race as a social concept.
Contrary to what you and I were taught, the idea of different races based on color is relatively new, about 300 to 400 years old.
Slavery had existed for centuries, but historically was a result of conquest or indebtedness (sort of the ultimate late payment penalty). Quite coincidentally, no doubt, the birth of the concept of an immutable characteristic called “race,” which confers superiority on some and inferiority on others in perpetuity, coincides with the growth of chattel slavery–the belief that some persons are destined by heredity to be owned and exploited, like cattle, forever.
A nugget:
Read it.